What happened to all the temporary air conditioning units at the Olympic Village?
An inside view of a bedroom during the media visit of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village on July 2nd, 2024, in Paris, France. | Photo by Aurelien Meunier / Getty Images
Now that the Paris Olympics are over, the temporary air conditioning units shipped in for athletes are poised to have a second — and hopefully third — life.
There was a good amount of drama around these units. Planners initially didn’t include them in their design for competitors’ housing, opting instead for more energy-efficient options. Moreover, AC just hasn’t been as necessary in cooler climates until lately and is still relatively uncommon in homes across Europe. But heatwaves pose big risks for athletes, many of whom decided to supply their own mobile units to stay cool.
Thousands of them were reportedly ordered for the Olympic Village, where more than 14,000 athletes stayed…